FIC: Aftermaths, Part 58

[geri_chan]

Title: Aftermaths, Part 58
Rating: NC-17 overall, but most chapters are closer to PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Lupin, Theodore/Blaise, and a few other minor pairings
Word count: ~10,115
Warning: AU; written pre-HBP
Author's notes: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising
Summary: Harry receives a threatening note, and the teachers prepare for possible trouble at the Quidditch match.

Part 57 (Previous chapters can be found under the aftermaths tag.)

***

"Hello, Lukas," Lupin said cheerfully when Lukas returned to school. "Albus said that the trial seems to be going well."

"I suppose so," Lukas said, a little doubtfully. "It took the Wizengamot half the day to decide that I really am Cyril Diggory."

"That's a major step," Snape informed him. "For them to admit that you are Cynric Diggory's son is halfway to admitting that you are the rightful head of the Diggory family."

"That's what Morrigan said," Lukas conceded. "I suppose I should thank you, Severus. Your mother was very helpful today--she made Amos's lawyer look like a fool."

Snape looked uncomfortable--not simply annoyed at his mother, as he often was, but almost guilty. "No need to thank me," he mumbled. "My mother did it on her own; she is the one you should thank."

Lupin smiled at Snape, looking affectionate, but a little concerned at the same time. There must be something complicated going on within the Snape family, but Lukas decided that he didn't really want to know about it--he had enough problems of his own, after all, including one named Narcissa Malfoy.

"You'll call on us when you need us to testify?" Lupin asked.

Lukas nodded. "Yes, I'll have to talk to Morrigan about what she has planned. I'll try to let you know in advance so you can reschedule your classes, but it won't be for at least another week. It seems that they're trying to drag out this trial as long as possible."

"Interesting," Snape mused. "Amos must be afraid of losing, which is rather surprising, since most of the purebloods would tend to side with him against a werewolf."

"But the law says that werewolves have equal rights under the law--a law recently passed by the new Minister of Magic," Lupin argued. "If they want to rule that Lukas is unfit to inherit the title, then they'll have to find another excuse besides his lycanthropy to do it."

"So perhaps they're using the time to try and dig up some dirt on me," Lukas said with a bitter smile.

"Yes, but it's a double-edged sword," Snape pointed out. "It also gives you time to build up support in the wizarding world. You do have powerful friends and allies--the Minister of Magic and Dumbledore--and it wouldn't hurt to remind people of that."

"Not to mention the Snape family," Lupin said with a smile. Snape just grunted, looking a little embarrassed. "And Sirius and Branwen support your claim as well."

Lukas nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I suspect that I'll also be getting a good deal of publicity, although I'm not sure whether it will be helpful or not. Rita Skeeter was at the trial today; I hope she hasn't changed her attitude towards werewolves."

"Oh, I don't think so," Lupin said cheerfully. "She hasn't written anything truly slanderous for over a year, so Hermione must still be blackmailing her."

"I still wonder what she has over Skeeter," Snape muttered to himself.

Lukas shrugged. "Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it. She could sell just as many, if not more, papers writing articles about how the public needs to be protected from bloodthirsty werewolves. Well, I'll see the two of you at dinner, then. I should get caught up on my lesson plans for tomorrow."

"By the way, Lukas," Lupin said casually, "Albus came back two hours ago; I thought you'd be back soon after that. Were you consulting with Morrigan?"

"Dumbledore said I could have the entire day off," Lukas said defensively.

"Oh, of course," Lupin said in a placating voice. "I was just curious. I know you were concerned about missing classes while the trial was taking place, even though Albus said to take as much time off as you need."

Lukas flushed a little. "I had lunch and took some time to calm down. It's bad enough being grilled by a lawyer in front of the Wizengamot, not to mention the general public, but they make you sit in this chair that has chains on it, like you're a criminal--"

Snape looked up, startled. "Chains? They used Courtroom Ten? That's the same place the original Death Eater trials were held! Unusual, for a civil case..."

"I didn't know that," Lukas said, "but I'm not surprised. Morrigan said it was an intimidation tactic. Anyway, I do need to work on those lesson plans. See you later."

***

"Hmm," Lupin said, watching curiously as the other werewolf hastily departed. "Lukas seemed a bit flustered."

"He's going through a nasty trial where his own uncle is trying to portray him as a beast that's unfit to run the family estate," Snape said. "It might be more surprising if he wasn't flustered."

"Maybe," Lupin said, not sounding convinced. "But I think there's more to it than that. He usually gets angry when he talks about Amos, not flustered."

"Weren't you the one who told me not to meddle in Bleddri's life, Lupin?" Snape asked sarcastically.

Lupin grinned sheepishly. "I guess you're right, Severus."

"Besides," Snape continued, "I would have thought that you'd more than have your hands full meddling in my life, and the boys', and my mother's..."

"You're right, Sev," Lupin chuckled good-naturedly. Then he leaned over and whispered in a throaty voice, "And I can think of something else I would like to have my hands full of right now..."

"The full moon's over, Lupin," Snape said, flushing, but he quickly followed the werewolf back to their quarters without further objection.

***

The school was filled with excitement over the upcoming Quidditch match, but soon that excitement changed into something more fearful and ominous. On Monday of the week of the match, Harry received a letter at breakfast, one of the flying origami crane notes that Professor Chizuru had taught them to make last year. When he unfolded the piece of paper, he saw that it was a crude drawing of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Below the drawing, in letters that seemed to have been cut out from a newspaper and pasted together, was the message "Beware, Potter: the Dark Lord will be avenged!" Harry gasped, dropping the paper as if it contained a live snake instead of a drawing, and it burst into flames. There was nothing left but ashes by the time the teachers came down from the head table to investigate. They all turned pale when Harry explained what the note had said.

"It must be a Slytherin!" Jack immediately said. "Who else would want to avenge You-Know-Who?"

"That's ridiculous!" Hermione scoffed. "Why would the Slytherins want to avenge Voldemort after he tried to kill them?"

"But who else would send a note like this to Harry?" Dean objected. "It must have come from within the school; the charm isn't strong enough for it to have traveled farther."

"Someone's obviously trying to make the Slytherins look bad, you moron," Dylan snapped, coming over from the Slytherin table.

"Who are you calling a moron?!" Dean demanded, glaring at him.

"Mr. Rosier, Mr. Thomas, that's enough!" McGonagall said sharply.

"Look at it logically," Dylan said in a cool but level voice. "Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Millicent, Brad, Serafina, Damien, Theo, and I all fought against the Death Eaters during the final battle. If the Dark Lord were still alive, he'd regard us as traitors, and we'd be running from him instead of trying to avenge him."

"You were there, Dean!" Lavender argued. "You saw Pansy and Millicent help us defend the field hospital from the Death Eaters!"

Dean began to look a little unsure of himself. "But maybe some of the others..."

"The Death Eaters killed my mother," Dylan said coldly. "They tried to kill Serafina, and Draco and Theo, too. I don't think that the Dark Lord intended to induct us into the Death Eaters that night. I think he brought us there to use as sacrifices in case he needed more power." Dylan smiled bitterly. "We were his reserve supply. We have no reason to feel any loyalty to the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters."

Some students nodded thoughtfully, but others still looked suspicious, and muttered that many of the Death Eaters had pretended to switch sides after the first war ended.

"SILENCE!" shouted Dumbledore, and all the muttering instantly ceased; the students weren't used to the kindly Headmaster raising his voice. His gaze swept around the Great Hall, and he spoke in a quiet voice that somehow still seemed to carry to every corner of the room. "I am very disappointed in you--not just the perpetrator of this cruel and thoughtless prank, but in those of you who are so quick to believe in malicious gossip and unfounded rumors. We stood together and supported each other during the final days of the war. Will you let an anonymous prankster who does not have the courage to openly voice his or her convictions do what even Voldemort could not--divide this school and destroy our unity?" The gossiping students flushed and hung their heads, looking ashamed of themselves.

"What shall we do about the note, Albus?" McGonagall asked softly.

The old wizard sighed wearily. "I'm not sure what we can do, Minerva. We can't even examine it, to try and track down the sender, since it destroyed itself."

"Be careful, Potter," Snape said grimly. "Report any further threats or pranks, no matter how seemingly insignificant or harmless, to one of us immediately. And it would be prudent not to go anywhere alone--that means no roaming the halls or sneaking out of the castle after hours; is that clear, Potter?"

Snape looked more worried than angry, so Harry just nodded meekly, ignoring the Potions Master's high-handed words and tone of voice. Besides, he was still a bit shaken by the note. Surely it was a prank; surely it could not really be from a Death Eater--right?

Blackmore laid a hand on his shoulder and said in a quiet voice, "Be careful, Harry." She looked as worried as Snape, which didn't do anything to help ease his fears.

"You won't tell Sirius, will you?" Harry pleaded with her. "I don't want him to worry."

Blackmore smiled at him tenderly. "Of course I must tell him, Harry; he would be angry, and rightly so, if I didn't. It is a parent's prerogative to worry about his or her child." She kissed him on the cheek and returned to the head table with the other teachers. Harry felt bad about worrying Sirius, but at the same time, it made him feel good to hear her call Sirius his "parent".

***

After breakfast, Dumbledore called an emergency meeting in the staff room before classes started.

"I'm not sure this can still be considered a 'harmless prank,'" Snape said sourly. "It's stirring up animosity against my Slytherins, and if this keeps up, the students might move beyond angry words and insults to hexes or physical violence." He grimaced, remembering the tense and hostile atmosphere in the school last year. "I haven't forgotten that someone tried to push Theodore down a flight of stairs last year."

Lupin frowned. "We went from direct attacks against Slytherin students to a threatening note against Harry, a Gryffindor hero. Since the direct attacks failed, do you think that the perpetrator is trying a more indirect approach?"

"We can't take it for granted that the threat against Mr. Potter is a bluff or ruse," McGonagall objected. "It might truly be from someone who has a grudge against him." Snape bristled, and McGonagall added, "And I'm not accusing one of your students, Severus. Even if this is a roundabout way to stir up resentment against the Slytherins, we have to consider the possibility that the writer of the note might resort to violence against Mr. Potter to make their case even stronger."

"But what can we do?" Flitwick asked helplessly. "We don't know who is behind these pranks, or even if the same person is responsible for all of them."

"That's the problem," Lukas growled. "We've been totally ineffective at apprehending these so-called pranksters, so there's no incentive for them to stop. And I think Snape is right. I don't think that we can call these incidents 'pranks' anymore; they've taken on a decidedly nasty tone with this current threat. I think it's very possible that this could escalate into violence, whether against Mr. Potter or the Slytherins, I can't say for sure, but most likely the Slytherins." He smiled bitterly. "It's always easier to attack outcasts than heroes. My pack lived in fear of vigilante attacks at times, particularly during the years that Umbridge was pushing her anti-werewolf legislation."

"It's a bit of a stretch to call the Slytherins 'outcasts,'" McGonagall said. "Most of their families still have wealth and influence, but I do take your point, Master Bleddri--excuse me, I mean, Master Diggory." Lukas was now going by his real name, although with a certain amount of discomfort. But Morrigan wanted people to become accustomed to thinking of him as a Diggory, and besides, there was no point in wasting his court victory.

"How many people would mourn, and how many would gloat if the son or daughter of a Death Eater should be hurt or even killed?" Snape asked harshly. "How closely would any of the Aurors, save for Tonks and Shacklebolt, investigate such a crime?"

"Arthur wouldn't let them cover up something like that," Lupin argued, but he looked deeply disturbed.

"If it were up to me, I would question every student in the school under Truth Potion," Snape said fiercely.

"Unfortunately, the law does not permit that, Severus," Dumbledore said.

"The law didn't have any problem with overlooking the rights of suspected Death Eaters sixteen or seventeen years ago," Snape muttered. "But Merlin forbid we trample on the rights of the precious little brats."

"If we don't know which child is the culprit, perhaps we should punish them all," Lukas suggested. "That's how I used to keep my pack in line when the younger wolves got up to mischief. The others would resent it when they suffered because of one troublemaker, and work together to keep him or her in line."

"Amazing, how similar that sounds to Molly Weasley's parenting techniques!" Lupin said with a mischievous smile, his worry temporarily abating. "She could never tell which twin was Fred and which was George, so she always used to punish them both when they misbehaved; they were usually in on it together, anyway."

Lukas glared at the other werewolf, looking offended at being compared to Molly Weasley, and Snape snorted in derision. "Her parenting techniques weren't particularly effective. The twins couldn't stay out of trouble for longer than five minutes at a time. You can't believe how happy I was to see them drop out of school two years ago!"

"They turned out well enough," Lupin said in the twins' defense. "They are running a successful business now, after all."

"Your idea has some merit," Branwen told Lukas, but Sprout protested, "It seems a bit extreme to punish the entire school for the actions of one--or at most, a few--wrongdoers! We don't even know what House they're in!" Some of the other teachers nodded in agreement.

"What sort of punishment did you have in mind?" Branwen asked curiously, ignoring the objections. Bane, sitting on his usual perch on her shoulder, perked up eagerly at the word "punishment".

Lukas shrugged and made a vague motion with his hand. "Oh, curtail their privileges, I suppose. Enforce a curfew, suspend the trips to Hogsmeade, cancel the Quidditch matches--"

"CANCEL THE QUIDDITCH MATCHES?!" most of the teachers cried in horror, Flitwick among them, which was not surprising, since Ravenclaw was playing on Saturday. "My players have been practicing hard for this match!" he protested. "It's not fair to take that opportunity away from them!"

Once, Snape would have been as outraged as the rest of them, particularly since Slytherin had a decent chance of winning the Cup this year. But he still remembered the terror and despair he had felt when he had seen Dylan falling through the sky at Slytherin's last match, and he remained silent, a brooding expression on his face.

"Maybe it would be safer to cancel the match, considering what happened before?" Satoshi asked in a quiet voice, looking much more serious than was his wont.

"Great tragedy shall befall someone at the coming match," Trelawney predicted ominously, and Flitwick and Snape glared at her.

"The threat was against Harry," Flitwick pointed out, "and Gryffindor isn't playing this weekend."

"No, but Slytherin is, and it was a Slytherin who was the target of the hex during the first game," Branwen reminded them gravely.

"Nothing happened at the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match," Lukas said, frowning. "The previous attacks seemed to be directed mainly at Slytherin, and this current threat is against Mr. Potter, a Gryffindor."

Everyone turned to look at Snape. "Well, I'd hate to cancel the match, of course," Flitwick said with a mournful expression on his face. "But of course the students' safety comes first. I think it will be all right if we take the proper precautions, but that's easy for me to say, as none of my Ravenclaws have been threatened. If you really feel that your players might be in danger, Severus, then I won't object to canceling the game. It's your call."

As Snape hesitated, Lukas said thoughtfully, "Perhaps we could use this as an opportunity to try and catch our mysterious note-writer. If this is actually an attack on Slytherin, as Snape seems to think, then he or she might try to pull something at the match, and we can be on the lookout for it."

"Are you suggesting using my students as bait?" Snape asked angrily.

"Yes," Lukas said bluntly, meeting Snape's gaze without flinching. "It's a calculated risk, yes, but isn't it more dangerous to let the so-called prankster continue to go free? What if the next 'prank' is something more serious than a threatening note? I'm not suggesting throwing your students to the wolves, if you'll pardon the pun, Severus. We'll check the players' equipment for hexes, and patrol the stands..."

"The prankster will be suspicious if the teachers are patrolling the stands instead of watching the game," Satoshi objected. "If he knows he's being watched, he might back off." The tanuki smiled. "Speaking from the viewpoint of someone who has, er, run afoul of the law before--although it was all a big misunderstanding, of course."

"Of course," Snape said dryly.

Branwen petted her familiar and said, "Bane could fly over the Pitch and report to me if he sees anything suspicious."

"And I could shapeshift and watch from below," Satoshi offered. "No one will notice a cat or a rat prowling below the stands, and even if they do, they'll assume it's just a familiar that wandered away from its owner."

"You just said that the students will notice if the teachers aren't watching the game," Snape reminded him.

Satoshi grinned. "I'll leave an illusion of myself in the teachers' stand so no one will notice that I'm gone."

"Sirius can keep an eye on things in the Gryffindor section," Lupin said. "No one will think it unusual for him to come watch the game with his godson. And I could ask Tonks to help. She's a Metamorphmagus, so she could change her face and wander through the different sections of the stands without drawing attention to herself."

"All right," Snape said reluctantly. "But I want us to be better prepared this time." He paused to think. "Broomsticks in the teachers' stand, so that we can immediately go to a student's aid if something happens."

Dumbledore nodded. "Good thinking, Severus. I'll see to it."

"And a plan," Snape continued, "so that we don't stand there stunned, or run around like chickens with our heads cut off." More than a few of the teachers flushed at Snape's sharp, sarcastic tone, remembering that they hadn't been very helpful during the first incident.

"I'll have a levitation spell ready," Lupin said fervently.

"I'll have my medical kit with me, and be prepared for injuries," Pomfrey added.

"I'll keep a couple of Thestrals on hand," Hagrid said, "ter transport any badly injured students ter the castle quickly."

"Ah...good," Snape said, looking surprised to hear a practical suggestion from Hagrid. "If a player should be attacked during the game, I will fly out to help them, along with Madam Hooch and..." He hesitated. "How are you on a broomstick, Bleddri?"

Lukas shrugged. "I can ride one without falling off, but I'm no Quidditch player. I was confined to the house for most of my childhood." Most of the other teachers were middle-aged or older, and had not ridden a broom in years.

"It's a young person's sport," Vector said ruefully. "And a broomstick isn't very comfortable, even with a Cushioning Charm."

"I'm a little rusty," Branwen said, "but I can manage, I think."

"I still fly regularly," Sinistra said. "I like to get as close to the stars as I can."

"Then Branwen, Madam Hooch, Professor Sinistra, and I shall attempt to render aid from the air," Snape said, "while the rest of you do what you can from the ground. It might be easier to cast a levitation spell from below than from above, anyway."

"A good plan, Severus," Dumbledore said approvingly. "Very well, then. Let us hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst."

Snape was glad of the Headmaster's support, but he wished that Dumbledore hadn't phrased it quite that way. He didn't want to contemplate what "the worst" might be; the thought of something happening to his sons made him go cold with fear, and he was tempted to call off the match right then and there. He remembered Lupin telling him how Molly Weasley had encountered a boggart while cleaning Black's house, and how it taken the forms of the corpses of her children. Although he had never really liked Molly, he felt a sudden pang of sympathy for her; he wondered if every parent's worst fear was the death of their children. Not every parent, he reminded himself cynically. Thaddeus Nott and Lucius Malfoy had been willing to let their sons die to save their own skins, and Andreas Avery had tried to kill his daughter when she defied him and turned against the Death Eaters. And Snape's own father had always been more concerned about his family's reputation than his son's welfare. Severin's worst fear had probably been that the Snape line would die out, disgraced by its last living heir--at least until Snape finally returned home and adopted Theodore. He suddenly wondered what Selima's worst fear was, but wasn't sure that he really wanted to know the answer.

***

Lukas went to court on Wednesday, and it was, in his opinion, a complete waste of time. It was what Morrigan called the "character witness" phase of the trial: Lamont Whitby called on friends and coworkers who testified as to what a fine, upstanding citizen Amos Diggory was. Helen Diggory took the stand to talk about what a proud and loving father Amos had been, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. Then Morrigan called witnesses of her own, members of the Order who testified as to how Lukas and his werewolves had provided vital help during the final battle against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. She didn't call on Lupin and Snape, not wanting Lamont to distract the Wizengamot by bringing up insinuations about their relationship, but Dumbledore, Tonks, and Shacklebolt all testified as to how the werewolves had risked their lives during the battle. Dumbledore also talked about what a good teacher Lukas was, and how much his students enjoyed his classes. Sirius Black also testified as to Lukas's heroism in the final battle, and his role as a peacetime leader to the werewolves who volunteered his time at the charity clinic in Diagon Alley and made sure that the werewolves availed themselves of the services offered by Werewolf Support--including the Wolfsbane Potion that kept them sane and safe during the full moon. And finally, Selima Snape testified again, talking not about Lukas, but about his father Cynric, reminiscing about how handsome and charming he had been, and how much he had loved his wife and son, sadly expressing regret that both his life and his promising career at the Ministry had been cut short. Some of the Wizengamot members nodded sympathetically; Cynric had been well-liked, and many of them remembered him fondly.

Morrigan claimed that the day had been a success, that they had reminded the Wizengamot of the fact that Lukas's father had been the rightful heir to the Diggory title, and that Lukas himself was a war hero. Lukas wasn't sure that was enough to outweigh his lycanthropy, but he hoped she was right. And maybe the day wasn't a waste of time after all, because Narcissa Malfoy showed up to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron, and they had another bout of incredible sex, even better than the last time. Narcissa departed much as she had before, in haste, looking angry and confused--but she did agree to meet him again next week. Lukas wondered how something so wrong could feel so right.

***

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at school was tense, as everyone waited for another note to arrive or another "prank" to be played, but when nothing had happened by Friday, the students--although not the teachers--began to relax a little. The only thing out of the ordinary that happened was that Neville misplaced his wand--and that wasn't really enough out of the ordinary to cause his housemates to become concerned.

"What are you doing, Neville?" Allegra asked curiously as she watched the older boy peer under the couch in the Gryffindor common room. "Are you looking for Trevor?"

"No, my wand," he replied in a hushed voice. "I can't remember where I left it."

"I don't think you would have left it under the couch," Allegra said helpfully.

Neville sighed and looked up. "No, but it could have rolled under there if I dropped it without realizing it."

"When's the last time you remember seeing it?" Allegra asked.

"During Transfiguration class," Neville replied. He sighed again. "We were practicing Vanishing Spells, but I'm afraid I didn't get mine completely right." He lifted his pet toad out of his pocket. "I was supposed to make Trevor vanish, but I couldn't quite do it. And he still looks a bit transparent in spots, even after I reversed the spell."

"I'm sure it will wear off," Allegra assured him. "Did you check the Transfiguration classroom, then?"

Neville shook his head. "By the time I realized it was missing, McGonagall had already left and locked up the room."

"Well, I'm sure if you ask her, she'll let you back in to look for your wand."

"I don't want to do that," Neville said unhappily. "I'm always getting scolded for being so forgetful. I really got in trouble in third year, when I left the password to the common room lying around, and Sirius Black found it."

"Yes, but Sirius wasn't a murderer after all, so everything turned out all right," Allegra said brightly.

"I can tell that she's already worried I won't pass my N.E.W.T.," Neville said. "I don't want her to think I'm a complete moron."

"But if the wand is in the classroom, there's no point looking for it somewhere else," Allegra said practically.

"Well, I don't know for sure that it's there," Neville said. "I'll look everywhere else first. If I still can't find it, then I'll ask McGonagall to let me in the room."

"I'll help you look for it," Allegra volunteered.

"We'll help, too," Emma said, and Chloe and Portia nodded.

Neville smiled at them gratefully. "Thanks, that would be a big help."

"So where did you go after Transfiguration?" Allegra asked. "Let's retrace your steps."

"Let's see...I had Herbology after that; we didn't need to use our wands for that class. Then I went to the library to study, and came back to the dorm. I was just thinking that I should practice that Vanishing Spell some more, and that's when I noticed my wand was gone."

"Okay, so we should check the library and the greenhouse," Allegra said. "Dinner starts in half an hour, so maybe we should split up." Neville, Allegra, and Portia went to check the library, while Chloe and Emma searched the greenhouse, but they still had not found it by dinnertime. The students were not allowed out of the castle at night, so after dinner, they went back to search the library further, and then checked the corridors between the library and the dorm until Filch came by and scolded them for loitering. So they went back to Gryffindor Tower and searched the common room again.

"What about your Remembrall?" Ron asked, when he saw them looking under tables and chairs.

"It only tells me that I've forgotten something," Neville said glumly. "It doesn't tell me where that something might be, or even what it is that I forgot."

Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione helped him search the dorm, but the wand was nowhere to be found. "Guess I'll have to talk to McGonagall after all," Neville groaned.

"It's too late now," Hermione said. "You'll have to ask her tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's the Quidditch match," Neville said. "She'll be in a bad mood if I make her late for the game. I'll ask her afterwards, I guess."

"If you can't find your wand, I can get you a used one cheap from my dad's shop," Allegra said cheerfully.

Neville groaned, and Harry patted him sympathetically on the back. "Don't worry, it's bound to turn up. It can't have disappeared, after all."

"Maybe you made the wand vanish instead of Trevor!" Ron joked, and Hermione shot a glare at him as Neville groaned again, burying his head in his hands.

***

Saturday turned out to be a bright and sunny morning, a perfect day for a Quidditch match. The students forgot their fear, and were laughing and wagering on which team would win. Snape and Lupin helped Hooch check the players' equipment and robes for hexes before the match; the players wore no rosettes this time, as they had been banned due to the "accident" that had befallen Dylan at the first match. After determining that there were no hexes present, Snape and Lupin made their way up into the teacher's stand. Satoshi slipped a small ceramic statue of a tanuki (similar to the ones often found outside bars and restaurants in Japan) out of his robes, and plunked it down on the bench beside him. He muttered a brief incantation, and the statue suddenly turned into a life-sized likeness of himself that was holding a blue-and-bronze Ravenclaw pennant in one hand and a green-and-silver Slytherin pennant in the other. Simultaneously, the real Satoshi shrank down into the form of a large rat, which scuttled under the bench and disappeared. The illusory Satoshi waved the blue pennant and said, "Go, Ravenclaw!"

"Pretty impressive illusion," Lupin said admiringly.

"It's an innate tanuki ability," Snape replied, a bit grumpily. "It doesn't require a great deal of effort on his part." Not that Satoshi was any rival for Lupin's affections, but Snape didn't really like Lupin admiring anyone but himself, just on principle.

Lupin grinned at him widely. "I love it when you're jealous, Sev," he cooed into Snape's ear.

"Oh, shut up, Lupin," Snape growled, flushing a little.

"Don't look now, Snape," Lukas said, "but here comes your mother."

Snape repressed a groan as Selima approached, making her way up the stairs towards them. He did not feel angry so much as he felt incredibly awkward. He was embarrassed about having to face her after his outburst at Snape Manor, when he had exposed much more of his emotions than he had meant to. And he wasn't sure how he was supposed to mend things between them, although he knew that he needed to for Theodore's sake.

Selima was wearing Theodore's silver-and-amber combs in her hair, and Dylan's matching brooch pinned to her black robe. She was wearing a gold sash belted around her waist, and dangling from it on a silk cord was the ivory dragon netsuke Snape and Lupin had given her for Christmas. The small carving had been displayed in a case with some other figurines the last time Snape had seen it before leaving the Manor, so he was surprised to see Selima wearing it as an ornament, although that was its original purpose. He wondered if she meant it to be a peace offering.

Maybe so, because she looked uncharacteristically hesitant, and asked in a diffident tone, "May I join you, Severus, Professor Lupin? Or I could join the Parkinsons and the Baddocks in the Slytherin section, if it would not be appropriate for me to sit among the teachers."

Snape stared at her in shock; he was not used to seeing her behave in a deferential manner towards him. When she spoke to her son, she commanded, berated, and lectured, but never deferred. In fact, although she was good at flattering and manipulating her pureblood peers when necessary, he had never seen her sincerely defer to anyone but his father. Yet here she stood before him, head bowed respectfully, looking humble and a little anxious.

As a teenager, after Lucius had begun taking him to Voldemort's secret meetings but before he had actually been branded with the Dark Mark, Snape had sometimes dreamed of revenging himself on his parents. He had not wanted to kill them, the way Lorcan Foley had eventually tortured and killed his abusive father, but he had imagined them kneeling before him in fear and respect, perhaps begging his forgiveness for the way they had treated him as a child. But now Snape found that it gave him no pleasure to see his proud mother so humbled; in fact, he found it a little disturbing, although he wasn't exactly sure why.

Before their argument, Lupin would have cheerfully told Selima to have a seat without asking Snape's permission, but now he remained silent and waited for Snape to reply. That too seemed wrong, somehow, although Snape had often found the werewolf's presumption annoying in the past.

After a very long and awkward silence, Snape finally said in a voice that was polite though a trifle stiff, "Please have a seat, Mother."

Selima looked relieved for a moment, before her face assumed its usual expression of cool dignity, and took a seat on the bench beside him. Lupin squeezed Snape's arm in a quick, unobtrusive gesture, and smiled at him warmly.

"Go, Slytherin!" the illusion of Satoshi said, waving the Slytherin pennant it was holding.

Selima gave the illusion a puzzled look. "The game hasn't even started yet."

"Master Satoshi is just...er...very enthusiastic about the game," Lupin said.

Selima frowned, peering at "Master Satoshi" more closely, who took no apparent notice of her. "That's an illusion, isn't it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Not so impressive after all," Snape couldn't resist telling Lupin.

"It was only meant to fool the students from a distance," Lupin said with a smile.

"So where is the real Illusions teacher?" Selima asked. "And why does he feel the need to leave a replica of himself here? I didn't think that attending the Quidditch matches was mandatory."

Lupin hesitated, trying to decide how much to tell her. "He wanted to patrol the stands discreetly, without the students noticing."

Selima crossed her arms and glared at her son and Lupin. "Are you expecting trouble at this match, Severus?" she asked sharply. "Priscilla and Elaine told me about the threatening note the Potter boy received. And I haven't forgotten what happened at the first match. Is my grandson in any danger?"

Snape felt oddly relieved to see his mother behaving more like her normal, imperious self. It had just seemed so unnatural to see her looking almost cowed. Or maybe he had seen too many people's spirits broken during his tenure as a spy--both the Death Eaters' victims and the Death Eaters themselves. He had watched victims being tortured until they were willing to betray friends and family members in order to stop the pain. He had watched Voldemort turn the proud and arrogant Death Eaters into groveling slaves. So the thought of humiliating and humbling another person, even someone he resented, was no longer as appealing to him as it might once have been. Well, except perhaps for some of his more unruly students...

"Severus?" Selima said impatiently, and Snape quickly shook off his introspective mood.

"Yes, a threatening note was sent to Potter," Snape said briskly. "Possibly just a childish prank, but the staff is taking all due precautions. We examined the players and their equipment for hexes, and we will be watching the match very closely. Master Satoshi is patrolling the stands in disguise. Since he is able to shapeshift into animal form, he can easily observe the students without being noticed."

"Wouldn't it have been safer to cancel the game?" Selima asked.

"Not really," Snape replied. "I'm certain that the so-called prankster is a student, so he could attack at any time, not just during the match. But if something does happen during the match today, we have a much better chance of catching the culprit here, where we can observe the audience. I have not forgotten what happened the last time either, Mother, and I would not do anything to deliberately put my sons in danger."

Selima did not look completely convinced, but did not argue further, and a moment later, the two teams took the field and Madam Hooch started the game.

"Go, Ravenclaw!" said the illusion of Satoshi.

Both teams were playing with determination, but Slytherin seemed to have the edge over Ravenclaw. Unfortunately, Snape could not concentrate wholeheartedly on the match. He had brought a pair of binoculars with him, and was scanning the crowd in the stands while pretending to watch the game. He was concentrating particularly on those students who had lost family members to the Death Eaters, as well as those who were most vocal in being suspicious of the Slytherins, but none of them looked like they were trying to cast a hex, and their attention seemed to be focused on the game, the same as the rest of the students. He noticed that the Sloper brothers, Andrew Kirke, and Dean Thomas were waving Ravenclaw pennants--probably they were rooting against Slytherin more than they were actually rooting for Ravenclaw. Granger, Patil, and Brown, on the other hand, were openly waving Slytherin pennants, as was Allegra Zabini. Prospero, Marius, and Olivia Zabini were sitting with Allegra, although Marius looked as though he felt a little out of place in the Gryffindor stand. In the Hufflepuff section of the stands, Isabelle Laroque and Susan Bones were sitting together--it was interesting that two girls who had both lost uncles to the Death Eaters had formed a friendship, but they were not behaving suspiciously, and were laughing and cheering along with the other students. He did notice that they seemed to be cheering for Ravenclaw, but that wasn't really suspicious in and of itself. Tristan Ames-Diggory, however, who by all accounts was a Quidditch fanatic and took great pride in being Hufflepuff's Seeker, looked listless and unhappy, applauding halfheartedly when Ravenclaw managed to score a goal. The Diggory family feud was probably taking its toll on the boy; he hadn't talked back to Snape or quarreled with his Slytherin classmates in Potions class for weeks. Maybe that was cause for concern, but right now Snape needed to concentrate on ensuring the safety of his sons, and Tristan had his own Head of House to worry about him. At least it seemed that Tristan didn't have enough energy to be sending threatening notes or casting hexes.

Excited shouting jerked Snape's attention back to the game in time to see Dylan pass the Quaffle to Theodore, who got it past the Keeper and threw it through the Ravenclaw goal.

"Yes!" Lupin exclaimed.

"Go, Slytherin!" said Satoshi's illusion.

Snape smiled with satisfaction and turned his gaze towards the Ravenclaw stand; he still considered Stewart Ackerley to be the prime suspect in the Porvora attack on Aric. Ackerley didn't look as though he was going to cast a hex; he was waving a pennant and shouting encouragement to the Ravenclaw team, as were all his housemates. But Snape frowned when he saw who was sitting next to Ackerley...

***

Satoshi knew that Gryffindor and Slytherin were fierce rivals, and that there was a history of bad blood between the two Houses, so he decided to investigate the Gryffindors first. He scurried unseen beneath the stands, until he reached the Gryffindor section. His nose twitched with interest as he caught the scent of food. The students frequently brought snacks with them to the Quidditch matches, and someone had carelessly spilled some food that had fallen to the ground beneath the stands. There was a Bertie Bott's Bean--earwax, by the smell of it, which was perhaps why it had been dropped--and some popcorn, and a bit of chocolate...

Satoshi wrenched his attention away from the food and reminded himself that he was supposed to be on patrol. The problem with taking animal form was that you also took on some of the animal's instincts, and animals tended to be preoccupied with finding food. There was plenty of food in the kitchens at Hogwarts and he could go get a snack after the game, Satoshi told himself firmly. There was no need to go eating food off the ground, although the idea didn't disgust him as much as it would have most of his human colleagues, since he was part animal to begin with. He spent most of his time in human form, but he had hunted and scavenged food in his tanuki form, particularly when he had been hiding from a jealous husband or irate customer.

Above him, he heard the sound of voices being raised in excitement and anger, and he abandoned the food and moved closer to the sound, concentrating on what the voices were saying.

"Go, Ravenclaw!" Jack Sloper shouted. "Beat those snakes!"

"Some people are so immature!" Parvati Patil said in a huffy voice. "You don't even have any friends on the Ravenclaw team; you're only cheering for them because you hate Slytherin!"

"And you're a traitor!" Jack retorted. "Are you still going to cheer on your Slytherin boyfriend if they play Gryffindor in the finals? Are you going to root for those snakes over us?"

"It's not a crime to date someone from another House!" Parvati snapped. "Dean is dating a Hufflepuff, after all. Are you going to call him a traitor, too?"

"That's not the same thing!" Dean Thomas protested.

"Will you lot pipe down?" Ron Weasley complained. "I'm trying to concentrate on the game!"

"You're dating a Slytherin, too, Weasley," Jack said accusingly.

"Are you calling me a traitor, Sloper?" Ron asked angrily.

"Here now, settle down," Sirius Black said sternly.

"You're not a teacher," Jack pointed out.

"No, but my wife is," Sirius said, in a voice that sounded almost as wicked and smugly satisfied as Snape's did when he was about to punish some hapless student. "And I'm sure that Professor Blackmore will be more than happy to hand out detention if she hears that some of her students were causing a disturbance during the game."

Even though Branwen was sitting across the field with the other teachers, that threat was enough to make the arguing students fall silent. Satoshi chuckled softly to himself, although in his current form, it came out as more of a squeak. Jack and his friends might be hostile towards the Slytherins, but it seemed unlikely that they would be able to carry out any mischief without being noticed, now that they had attracted so much attention to themselves. He decided to move on and investigate Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but as he turned around to leave, he found himself face to face with a large ginger cat.

Satoshi let out a startled squeak, and prepared to shapeshift, hoping that he could manage to change before the cat pounced. But the cat made no move to attack, and just cocked its head to one side and gave Satoshi a quizzical look.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione Granger called. "Crookshanks, where are you?"

"I'm sure he can take care of himself, Hermione," Harry Potter said in a voice that tried to be soothing but came out more impatient.

Crookshanks stared at Satoshi a moment longer, then jumped up and climbed back into the stands. "Ah, there you are!" Hermione exclaimed. Satoshi hurried on his way, but took the time to change from a rat into a cat, just in case he ran into any other stray familiars.

***

Meanwhile, Tonks was sitting in the Ravenclaw section of the stands, having taken the form of a nondescript, elderly gray-haired witch. She was sitting at the top, away from most of the other spectators, and if someone tried to talk to her, she pretended to be hard of hearing, cupping her ear and saying, "Eh, what's that, dearie?" Eventually, they gave up and left her alone, assuming that she was some great-aunt or second cousin several times removed to one of the players.

Sirius was already sitting in the Gryffindor section, and Severus had said that he was suspicious of Stewart Ackerley, so Tonks had decided to investigate Ravenclaw first. If she didn't spot anything suspicious, then she'd move on to Hufflepuff. She had met Stewart only a couple of times before, when he had stopped by the office to see his father, so it took her awhile to find him in the crowd, since she didn't want to be too obvious about looking for him. But eventually she found him, and her eyes widened in surprise--not because the boy was doing anything suspicious, but because of who was sitting with him. His mother sat beside him to the left, which was certainly normal enough, but to his right sat a scarlet-robed wizard with long brown hair in a ponytail, and an older, tough-looking man with short, wiry gray hair. They were two of Tonks's fellow Aurors: Ian Williamson and Richard Dawlish.

She knew that they had been friends of Stewart's father, but she wondered what they were doing here--had they just come to visit with their friend's son, or were they also expecting trouble at the match? Dumbledore had not filed an official report about the threat to Harry with the Ministry, but with the way gossip traveled in the wizarding world, the two Aurors could easily have heard about it and decided to investigate unofficially, as Tonks herself was doing. Tonks should have felt reassured about having two colleagues on hand as backup in case something did happen, but instead she felt uneasy. The two men had been cronies of the late Cornelius Fudge, and weren't entirely pleased about the change in administration. They were also the Aurors who had trashed the Nott mansion while searching it during the summer, which had led to a furious Snape demanding an apology and compensation on Theodore's behalf. Arthur had forced them to write letters of apology, which had not endeared him any further to the Aurors. They were not actually bad men, but they were narrow-minded and had grown used to following Fudge's orders without thinking for themselves--a bad trait in an Auror, Tonks felt. They were too proud to admit that they--and Fudge--had been wrong, and had been carrying a chip on their shoulders ever since the war had ended. They resented their loss in status now that they were no longer the Minister's right-hand men, and they felt that the surviving Death Eaters and their families had gotten off too easy. If it had been up to them, the Death Eaters would all have been executed, and their children interrogated and possibly imprisoned. Part of it was due to grief and anger at losing two fellow Aurors, including Stewart's father, during the final battle, but Tonks was worried, because that grief and anger seemed to festering rather than healing with time. Williamson had been a housemate of hers at Hogwarts, a fellow Gryffindor a couple of years ahead of her. He had been a nice enough guy then--handsome and funny and charming, if a bit full of himself. But somewhere along the line, childish self-centeredness had turned into arrogance, and he had felt no regret about what he had done to the Nott mansion, including tearing apart Theodore's room out of what seemed like sheer spite. When she had confronted him about it, he had accused of her "going soft," and regarded her with suspicion because of her friendship with Remus and Severus.

As for Dawlish, he was the type who carried out his orders to the letter, without using any personal judgment--or any compassion. She recalled how he had been one of the Aurors who had struck McGonagall with a stunning spell when she had tried to stop them from attacking Hagrid during Harry's fifth year, when Umbridge had been running Hogwarts. McGonagall's injuries had been severe enough to send her to St. Mungo's, and Tonks could not forgive him for hurting her former Head of House and one of her favorite teachers. But even more importantly than that, it made her wonder--if Dawlish was willing to attack an upstanding citizen, a respected Hogwarts teacher in that manner, what might he do to a child that he suspected of being a Death Eater...?

Tonks tried to reassure herself that even Dawlish wouldn't act without orders, and that Arthur wouldn't let him get out of hand, but nevertheless, she did not reveal herself to her fellow Aurors, and remained in disguise, sitting quietly in the stands as she watched them carefully.

***

The game was going well for Slytherin; Ravenclaw was still regrouping after several key players had graduated last year, and the new members, while talented enough, were inexperienced and still learning to work together as a team. Slytherin was currently ahead by fifty points, and at the rate things were going, they might be able to get a big enough lead to win even if Ravenclaw did catch the Snitch, although Draco had no intention of letting that happen.

Theodore had the Quaffle and was racing towards the Ravenclaw goals, while Draco and the Ravenclaw Seeker were circling the Pitch, waiting impatiently for the Snitch to appear. They saw a raven soaring above them, and Draco gave it a puzzled look. "What is Bane doing out here?" he wondered aloud, then scowled and muttered, "He'd better not interfere with the game!" He had a sudden vision of the bird grabbing the Snitch, and wondered what Madam Hooch would do if that happened.

The Ravenclaw Seeker opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, off in the distance, a deep voice boomed, "MORSMORDRE!" and the image of a giant skull with a snake coming out of its mouth appeared in the sky. The skull and snake seemed to be made of a pale, sickly-looking, glowing green light, and Draco gasped and turned white.

Theodore halted in midair, paralyzed with fear, staring in horrified fascination at the glowing skull. All of the other players were similarly affected, so there was no one controlling the Bludgers, and Theodore never even saw the Ravenclaw Bludger race towards him and strike him in the back of the head. He heard a loud, cracking noise like bone shattering as his head exploded with pain, then suddenly everything went black. Theodore's unconscious body tumbled silently off his broomstick and fell towards the ground.

The players were still staring at the skull, and it took them precious seconds to notice that Theodore had fallen. Bane noticed, however, and plummeted straight down towards the boy in a steep dive, screeching loudly. He grabbed hold of Theodore's robes with his claws, but although Bane was huge, closer to an eagle in size than a raven, he was not big enough to support the weight of a nearly full-grown human body. If the situation were less serious, he might have looked almost comical, flapping his wings mightily in a vain attempt to keep himself and the boy aloft.

The teachers and students snapped into action. Alerted by Bane's scream, Madam Hooch and most of the Slytherins took off after Theodore; the others went after the Bludgers, shouting at the Ravenclaw team to help them. Some of the Ravenclaws were still too stunned to react, but Michael Corner, one of the Chasers, slapped the Beater on the back of his head and said sharply, "Wake up and grab that Bludger before it hits someone else!" The Beater took off after the Bludger, and Michael joined the Slytherins in diving after Theodore and Bane.

In the teacher's stand, Snape stared at the glowing skull in horror and confusion. For one heart-stopping moment of terror, he thought that Voldemort had returned, then realized that there was something not quite right about the Dark Mark in the sky. But then the Bludger struck Theodore, and he had no time to think; he and Branwen and Sinistra grabbed their broomsticks and launched themselves into the air. Trelawney was waving her arms, shouting, "Doom! Death and doom!" Lukas ignored her, pulled out his wand, and jumped straight from the stands down to the Pitch, not bothering to waste time using the stairs. He cast a small levitation charm to slow his fall enough so that he didn't injure himself, and hit the ground running. Without hesitation, Lupin followed suit. The other teachers were not quite so bold, but they hurried down the stairs as fast as they could.

Although Bane was not strong enough to support Theodore's weight, he had managed to slow the boy's fall slightly. The raven kept his claws firmly clenched in Theodore's robes, but the weight of the boy's body was causing the cloth to strain and tear. Just as the robes finally gave way and ripped free from Bane's claws, Draco and Dylan reached them and frantically grabbed hold of whatever they could reach; Dylan managed to grab Theodore's arm, while Draco only got a handful of robes, but they managed to stop him from falling, at least for the moment. Madam Hooch, Michael, and Damien joined them a moment later, getting a more secure hold on Theodore, and then Snape, Branwen, and Sinistra arrived. The others helped ease Theodore very carefully onto Snape's broomstick, and Snape wrapped an arm around the boy's waist to keep him from falling, as he was still unconscious. Draco and Dylan rode alongside him, each reaching out with one hand to help keep Theodore steady as they slowly descended to the ground. Snape bit his lip, chafing at the slow pace, but he knew that moving too quickly might cause Theodore to fall, and that too much bouncing and jostling might worsen what looked to be a serious head injury.

Below them, Lupin and Lukas abandoned the levitation spells they had been preparing, and instead conjured up a stretcher, then hurried over to lift Theodore off Snape's broomstick as the trio landed on the Pitch.

"Be careful!" Madam Pomfrey cried as they laid him down on the stretcher. "Try not to move his head too much."

She knelt down to examine him, frowning worriedly, and Dylan asked anxiously, "He's going to be okay, isn't he?"

"Just as I suspected," Pomfrey said gravely, avoiding Dylan's question. "His skull is fractured." She took out her wand and cast a quick healing spell, then said, "That will stabilize him for now, but we need to get him to the hospital wing right away. Strap him into the stretcher securely; we don't want him bouncing around when we transport him."

Snape and Lupin hastened to obey, as Hagrid came up leading one loose Thestral and another harnessed to a small sledge. "He's not going to bounce around on that?" Snape asked dubiously.

"It'll be a quicker an' smoother ride than by broomstick," Hagrid promised.

"We need to get him back to the castle as soon as possible," Pomfrey said, and Snape reluctantly nodded his consent. They secured the stretcher to the sledge, then Hagrid lifted Pomfrey onto the back of the loose Thestral, and slapped both animals on the rump.

"Off to the castle with yeh!" he said, and the Thestrals took off running as Pomfrey let out a startled yelp. Snape and Lupin followed on broomstick.

***

Meanwhile, in the stands, Dawlish and Williamson cried out in fear when the glowing skull appeared in the air.

"The Dark Mark!" Williamson exclaimed.

"So the Death Eaters are back," Dawlish said softly. "I wonder if it's Lestrange, or someone who was never exposed as a Death Eater to begin with?"

"But all of them were caught or killed except for Rabastan Lestrange!" Mrs. Ackerley protested.

"You can never quite be sure with the Death Eaters," Dawlish said grimly. "Look at how many of them escaped detection after the first war."

Tonks abandoned her disguise and ran down the stairs to join the other Aurors. "It came from that direction!" she shouted, pointing east. "We might still be able to catch the caster if we hurry!"

"Tonks?" Williamson said, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Ian, but we don't have time," Tonks replied impatiently, then cried out as she saw the Bludger strike Theodore and knock him off his broomstick.

"There's nothing we can do from here," Dawlish said briskly. "We've got to get some brooms and head out to where the Dark Mark was cast."

"But Theodore--" Tonks started to say.

"Who cares what happens to a Death Eater's son?" sneered Williamson, and Tonks glared at him.

"What about the children?" Mrs. Ackerley cried. "If there are Death Eaters on the loose, you have to protect them!"

"I'll speak to the Headmaster," Dawlish said. "I'm sure he and the other teachers will see the students safely back to the castle." They hurried out of the stands, and to her relief, Tonks saw Theodore rescued by his teammates.

"Tonks!" Dumbledore said when he saw her. "It's a good thing that you decided to attend the match!" Then he added, almost as an afterthought, "And the two of you also, of course."

The other two Aurors scowled at him. Dawlish in particular still hadn't forgiven Dumbledore for knocking him out when he had been trying to arrest the Headmaster on Fudge's orders after the secret D.A. meetings had been exposed. The fact that Dumbledore had been right all along about Voldemort's return didn't mitigate Dawlish's resentment.

"We heard rumors of threats and hexes that might be Death Eater activity," Dawlish said curtly, "and it seems those rumors are true, so it is indeed a good thing we came."

"We need to try and track down the source of the Dark Mark," Tonks said urgently. "Can you loan us some brooms?"

"Of course," the Headmaster said. Lupin had taken Branwen's broom to ride back to the castle, but Sinistra and Hooch readily gave theirs to the Aurors, as did Michael Corner.

"Can you handle things here, Dumbledore?" Dawlish asked. "You'll see to the students' safety?"

"Of course," Dumbledore replied. "Go, quickly. We'll take care of the students." The three Aurors nodded and took off in the direction of the glowing skull, which was slowly beginning to dissipate. In the stands, the students were milling about in fear and confusion, and many were close to panic. Dumbledore sent the teachers to escort the students back to the castle, calling on the prefects to organize their housemates in an orderly fashion. With the teachers and prefects taking charge, the students began to calm down, and although they were still frightened, they lined up and walked back to the castle instead of running in a blind panic. 

Part 59

***

Afterword: JKR later said in an interview that Dawlish's first name is "John," but at the time this story was written, we only knew his last name, so I dubbed him "Richard."